**DAMIAN’S POV**
The alert on my phone keeps vibrating long after I have already opened it. The screen glows in my hand, the notification stamped with the prison’s seal. I read the first line once. Then again. The words blur for a moment, then sharpen into something I cannot ignore.
Incident report: Inmate Adrian Thornton involved in altercation. Status: Injured. Non severe. Placed in isolation pending investigation.
My body goes still. A cold rigidity crawls up my spine. I hear my own voice when I speak, but it comes out without thought, a low clipped tone that carries across the room like a crack in ice.
“He was in a fight.”
Elena lifts her head sharply. Her posture changes as if she felt something jolt through the air. She steps closer to my desk. “What happened.”
I read the detai
